Social policy of the TNCC is officially based upon the Gandhian principle of Sarvodaya (upliftment of all sections of the society). In particular TNCC emphasises upon policies to improve the lives of the economically underprivileged and socially unprivileged sections of society. The party primarily endorses social liberalism (seeks to balance individual liberty and social justice).

Historically, the party has favoured farmers, labourers, and the working upper class; it has opposed unregulated business and finance. In recent decades, the party has adopted a centrist economic and socially progressive agenda and has begun to advocate for more social justice, affirmative action, a balanced budget, and a market economy. The economic policy adopted by the modern TNCC is free market policies, though at the same time it is in favour of taking a cautious approach when it comes to liberalising the economy claiming it is to help ensure that the weaker sectors are not affected too hard by the changes that come with liberalisation. In the 1990s, however, it endorsed market reforms, including privatisation and the deregulation of the economy. It also has supported secular policies that encourage equal rights for all citizens, including those from the lower stratas. The party supports the somewhat controversial concept of family planning with birth control.

Tamil Nadu Congress Pioneered the first Midday Meal Scheme in India in the Year 1953.[5] This led to a huge wave of enrollment by students from the predominant rural and semi urban pockets of Tamil Nadu, which helped increase the Literacy rate of the state from 16% in 1947 to 82% in 2011. Today, it has become the largest schoolchild feeding programme in the world, covering 110 million students in 1.2 million schools. This rural health initiative was praised by the American economist Jeffrey Sachs and Former American President John F. Kennedy.[6] During the TNCC tenure, an IIT and an IIM were opened in the state.[7]